For years now, I have been highlighting the best Firefox add-ons out there for you all to check out and use, if needed.  However, not often do I go that extra mile to help you replace an add-on that I don’t think is that handy to have.  Amazingly enough, ImTranslator is an add-on that have enjoyed a lot of popularity (3,875,310 downloads to be exact) however I think there is a better solution out there, that doesn’t even need an add-on for Firefox to be used.

One of the reasons I do not like ImTranslator is it looks junky.  It is riddled with advertisements, such I understand is great for when it comes to making money – however, I don’t think they serve a purpose inside of a Firefox add-on. Now, let us move on to what I think you should use instead.

What Replaces ImTranslator?

Just bookmark the Google Translate web site.  I have been using Google Translate for many years to help translate text and it has never let me down.  While the translations are not perfect (no translation tool ever is) it does the closest job, from what I have seen.  To use it, all you have to do is copy and paste the text you wish to translate, select what language it is in, what language you want to translate to, and then hit the button labeled, “Translate”.

By using Google Translate instead of ImTranslator, you not only save clutter from your Firefox add-on installs, but you also gain access to one of the best free translation tools out there today. Using the tools they provide, you can also get a bookmarklet that does a one-click translation of any web site into the language you wish to read.

So, let me know what you think.  Is Google Translate a suitable replacement for ImTranslator or do you think ImTranslator is still a better translating solution?

With that in mind, I thought it might be handy to guide you through the process when it comes to adding a new Persona theme to your browser, removing a Persona theme from your browser, and how to chance through Persona themes – once you have several saved to your system.

How Do You Install a Firefox Persona?

If you are using Firefox 3.6 or above, the options for Personas should be built into the browser.  Here is how you can grab your own Firefox Persona to use in Firefox.

Go to the Personas page on the Firefox Add-ons web site or the Personas Gallery.

Next, browser around the web site until you find a Persona you would like to use in your own Firefox browser.  Notice that as you hover over the thumbnail previews, your Firefox browser will change to show you what that Persona would look like.

Click on the Persona you would like to use, and go check out the official page for that specific Persona.  For example, here is the page for the Superman logo Persona shown above:

• Superman Logo Firefox Persona

To install that specific Persona for Firefox, click the orange, “Wear this Persona” button.

Once you do so, the Persona will be installed – and you will get a message come up in the browser telling you it has been installed, and giving you the option to undo or go to your manage themes settings.

You are now done.  Your new Persona for Firefox has been installed and is ready to decorate your browser till you change it again.

How Can You Uninstall a Firefox Persona?

Uninstalling Firefox Personas is as easy as installing them.  From Firefox’s Menu Bar, select Tools and then Add-ons.  Once that comes up, you want to go to the “Themes” tab. Both Firefox themes and Personas will now be displayed here.

Click on the Firefox Persona you wish to uninstall, and click the “Uninstall” button. You will be asked to verify the uninstall, and then it will be gone for good.  You can also switch to a different Persona you have downloaded by clicking on that Persona from this screen, and selecting “Use Theme”. 

Get More Personas Help: Other Personas Tips, Articles and Tutorials!

I love any add-on or web site service that helps me organize my day to day life and duties.  Being somewhat of an organizational nut, I do have to say one of my favorite Firefox add-ons out there is ReminderFox.  This add-on for Firefox remembers things, so you don’t have to.

Once installed, you can setup ReminderFox to keep track of all your important dates and events.  It could remember your birthdays, your anniversaries, when your bills are due and so much more.  The possibilities are really endless.  The best thing about it is it is running right from the browser, so there is no need to run a separate calendar application. 

If you are looking for a good way to simplify your to do list, or just remember key dates – ReminderFox is your little personal organizer living in your browser.

You can download the ReminderFox add-on from the Firefox Add-ons web site.

For those of you who don’t keep a miniature English teacher on your desktop to help you with your writing woes, there is After the Deadline.  Now, I have already told you before about the great bookmarklet they provide to help you with your spelling and grammar errors, but now they have a Firefox extension too.

After the Deadline bring a smart, contextual spelling and grammar checker to the Firefox browser.  Once installed, all you have to do is click on the check icon displayed on text areas of web forms to check your grammar and your spelling.  Click it one more time to finish your proofreading.

You can see it in action here:

I just can not highly suggest using this add-on for Firefox enough.  You can pick up the After the Deadline Firefox add-on on the Firefox Add-ons web site.

Both the Operetta and Operetta Advance themes for Firefox will give you that Opera look and feel you have been looking for.  The main difference between the two themes is that Operetta has the tab bar in the usual location (under the bookmarks) and Operetta Advance will move the tab bar to the top of the browser (on top of the menu).  So you have two choices to work with, depending on where you want the tabs bar.

Here is what Operetta looks like in action.

For comparison’s sake, here is the Operetta Advance theme.

Both themes give a great looking interface, without having to switch to the Opera browser to use it.  You can pick up both the Operetta and Operetta Advance themes (Windows only, for both themes) on the Firefox Add-ons web site. 

Smooth Wheel adds several more configurable preferences to your mouse wheel’s performance in Firefox.  Here is a little ‘bit more about the extension from the developer:

Smooth Wheel offers an enhanced and configurable version of the built in smooth-scroll. It uses some unique algorithms for smoothness and adaptive behavior (scrolls fast or slow by trying to anticipate the intention of the user). Allows to read long web pages easily. You can actually read WHILE scrolling. Kind of like the credits at the end of a movie, but controlled by scrolling the mouse wheel. Works with text-boxes and drop-down boxes too.

Here is a video tutorial, so you can see the add-on in action too:

Overall, this add-on might be the best scroll enhancing one I have used to date.  If you want to tweak the way your browser scrolls down a web page, head over to the Firefox Add-ons web site, and pick up Smooth Wheel.

Dark Light

Brushed Metal

Dream of Waves

Auora Blue

Solid Royal

Brown Bag

Light Green Tile

Glass – Clear

Vista Greens

Royal Noir

What do you think?  Do I have good taste, or does another one tickle your fancy even more than these?  Let me know in the comments – and feel free to share your own favorite Personas for Firefox.

Browsing space is important; especially for smaller netbook PCs out there.  So, why have the menu bar, bookmark bar and navigation bar shown if you don’t need them?  The Hide GUI bars extension for Firefox will let you hide all three, or bring them back with one single keyboard combination.

Once the Hide GUI bars add-on is installed, customizing it to fit your needs is pretty self explanatory.  In the options you can choose which toolbars get hidden:

• Menu Bar
• Navigation Bar
• Tab Bar
• Bookmarks Bar
• Status Bar

Next, you just choose the keyboard combination you wish to use to hide or show all the Firefox toolbars.

How to Hide Toolbars Manually in Firefox

Can you do this without the use of the Hide GUI bars add-on? Yes, but it is a little more complicated.  One of the new features in Firefox 3.6 is the ability to hide the menu bar.  The navigation bar and bookmarks bar were already hide-able before this most recent release. To hide them, just right-click one of the toolbars, and uncheck the one you wish to hide:

You can pick up the Hide GUI bars add-on for Firefox on the Firefox add-ons web site.

I have one more Firefox 3.6 about:config tip up my sleeve.  By toggling one setting, you can go from having a drop down list of tabs to a thumb-nailed view of each tab that is open. 

Here is how you too can enable this secret Firefox 3.6 feature.

How to Enable the Tab Preview Menu Button

• Type about:config in the address bar. Then, if needed click the “I’ll be careful, I promise!” button.
• Next, in the filter box – type in:
  • browser.allTabs.previews
• Right-click that about:config entry, and select “Toggle”

This will change it from false, to true.  You could take the same steps to disable it too.  Now when you click that icon with the four tiny squares, you will get a visually prettier way to check out all your tabs.

Also once this has been enabled, you can use the keyboard combination:

Shift + Ctrl + Tab

To get the same tab previews, just without the button clicking.

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From head to toe, this add-on for Firefox will give you a lot of new toys, options and more to play with on your Facebook account, to make the Facebook experience even better for you.

Better Facebook Activity Tracking

After Installing, just navigate to Facebook’s web site to get started. Right off the bat, you’ll notice that your most recent notifications are now pinned to the right side of the Facebook window, as seen here:

If anybody un-friends you, you will also get notification from the front page of Facebook under the “Friend Tracker” section.

My Group Activity will alert you to new posts, members, and more in groups you are a member of.  This is much more handy than visiting each, one by one.

Better Facebook News Feed

On your news feed, you have a few more options to play with too.  Here is a little more about those from the developer:

Click ‘Mark All Read’ once you have read every story on this page. The stories will then be hidden the next time you view the page. But don’t worry – if any new comments are added they will show back up! This will let you keep track of conversations that you otherwise might have missed.

You can always go back and see all the hidden stories by clicking ‘Show All’, then hide them again by clicking ‘Hide Read’.

Better Facebook Options and More

By clicking the “Options” button on the front page, you can quickly configure and edit how you want to see updates come up.  For example, you can show, minimize or hide new friend notifications.

You can pick up the Better Facebook! add-on for Firefox from the Firefox add-ons web site.

More Facebook/Firefox Fun > Best 5 Add-ons for Facebook Fans